Pakistani international defender Zesh Rehman has been making waves in Hong Kong since his switch to Kitchee SC earlier this year.
The former Fulham, Brighton & Hove, Norwich City, QPR, Blackpool, Bradford City, and Muangthong United player has attracted the following of the Pakistani community, students, and families in Hong Kong as they have started to come and cheer Zesh on in Kitchee matches.
The most recent one was Kitchee’s 3-1 win over Citizen FC.
One spectator who attended the game with students and other fans adds:
It was a great night to me and I observed that my colleagues and students would feel the same.
I had been very busy all night and had some minor prolonged headache but I was very happy to see my students and colleagues really together enjoying the football match. It was a really wonderful process of cultural integration for us (teachers to teachers, and students to teachers) and for us to the Hong Kong community (feeling part of our Hong Kong family).
Kitchee’s public relationship staff, the younger members and the senior members of the fan clubs, and other spectators in the stadium were very friendly to us and appreciated our cheering power for Kitchee and Rehman. A middle-aged lady changed her seat 3 times with her smiling face just to allow more seats for our group’s late comers. Many people were interested in our presence, and we also became the subject of their photos. We felt we were part of Kitchee. Mr. Sultan, after the match when we were walking to MTR station, said ‘We are Kitchee now’.
Of course, if he can know more about the translated meaning of Kitchee from English to Chinese, and if all our students have傑志, they can be very successful in their future. 傑 means outstanding, excellent and superb; 志 means ambition and determination.